Biophotonics is the term derived by the combination of photonics and biology. Photons are central entity in information technology in the same manner as electrons in electronics. Biophotonics is the application and development of optical methodology such as imaging, diagnosing etc, to study cells and tissues. It refers to detection, emission, absorption, modification, reflection and creation of radiation from tissues, organisms, biomaterials and cells. The major applications in the field of biophotonics are Life science, agriculture, environmental science and medicine.

Increasing demand for quality healthcare and growth of ageing population are the major forces driving the biophotonics market. The major benefit of biophotonics is that it preserves the cells for a specific period when they are examined. Apart from this, advances in optical technologies in aerospace and telecom industry and availability of funds for research and development are also propelling the growth for biophotonics market. In addition, the demand for minimum invasion surgeries and the increasing awareness about food security are expected to drive biophotonics market over the forecast period. The increasing demand for non medical applications including prevention of unauthorized access of data and for pathogen detections in agricultural food products are some of the future opportunities for this market.

North America accounted for the largest market share in 2013, which is expected to pool heavy investment and at the same time high end research is expected to be carried out in the field of biophotonics in coming years. In addition, increasing number of cancer patients and demand for non-medical applications mainly in the field of food security in this region has ensured its dominance. The Asia Pacific biophotonics market was valued at USD 4.23 billion in 2013, and is expected to be the fastest growing biophotonics market in the coming years. Increasing old age population and increasing healthcare expenditure are the key growth factor for this geography.

Medical diagnostics represented the largest biophotonics end-use segment in 2013. However, non-medical application segment is expected to exhibit the fastest growth over the forecast period from 2014 to 2020. The applications in detection of pathogens in agricultural food items, need for constant blood monitoring and need to prevent unauthorized access are driving the growth in this segment. In terms of applications, see-through imaging was the largest application segment in 2013 owing to rising demand for minimum invasive surgeries and vast number of applications in the field of oncology, cardiology, neurology and brain imaging among others. However, biosensors are expected to have maximum growth rate in the forecasted period. The increasing number of cases for diabetic patients, the rising awareness about food security and demand for prevention of unauthorized access are the major drivers for this market in the coming years.

Biophotonics refers to the development as well as application of numerous optical techniques used to study cells, molecules, and tissue. Biophotonics is essentially a combination of biology and photonics, the latter being the study and technology of using light to transmit information.

The biophotonics market has grown over the years owing to rising applications in the fields of medicine, life science, environmental science, and agriculture. The rate of investments and research in this field has been remarkable and for this very reason, North America is by far the largest market for biophotonics in the world. There has been a rise in healthcare expenditure in regions such as Asia Pacific and this has also fueled the growth of the biophotonics market.

This report is an all-inclusive and thoroughly researched analysis of the structure, elements, and dynamics of the global biophotonics market.

Overview of the global biophotonics market

The surging demand for quality healthcare from all parts of the world is the primary growth driver for the biophotonics market, and this demand stems from the rise in the global aging population. There has been a lot of support from private as well as government bodies and the availability of funds for research and development in the field of biophotonics has increased tremendously in recent times. Besides this, advancement in optical technologies in the telecom and aerospace industries has also boosted the growth of the biophotonics market.

The report predicts that this market is expected to witness greater expansion during the course of the forecast period thanks to rising awareness about food security, surging demand for minimally invasive surgeries, and its applications in non-medical areas such as pathogen detection in agricultural food products and prevention of unauthorized data access.

According to the report, the global biophotonics market is set to grow from a value of US$25.16 billion in 2013 to US$50.20 billion by 2020. If these values hold true, the biophotonics market is projected to present an impressive CAGR of 10.4% during the forecast period of 2014 to 2020.

There are, however, a few factors that threaten to restrict the growth of the biophotonics market and these include complexities associated with biophotonics technology and high cost of biophotonics-based instruments.

Companies mentioned in the research report

The research report offers a thorough analysis of the vendor landscape of the global biophotonics market. The key players featured in the report are PerkinElmer, Inc., Becton Dickinson & Co., Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Olympus Corporation, Carl Zeiss A.G., Oxford Instruments Plc, and Affymetrix Inc. The biophotonics market report focuses on aspects such as company and financial overview, business strategy, recent developments, and a SWOT analysis.